Method of and means for preparing type forms



June 29 1926.

C. W. EBERHARD METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PREPARING TYPE FORMS Filed NOV. 28. 1924 02mm 107E Za-erkm'd Atty/5.

Patented June 29, 1926.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

CHARLES w. EBERHARD, or PALATINE, ILLINOIS, assrenon 'ro RAPID ELECT-ROTYPE COMPANY, A con-rona'rron or onto.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR PREPARING TYPE FORE/IS.

Application filed November This invention relates to the printing art, and especially to the preparation of type forms. Heretofore much attention has been devoted to methods and means for assuring a true face for the printing element, both in printing from the type dir-ectlyandfrom plates. When the printing is done directly from the original type, especially when used along with mixed subject matter such as half tones, line cuts and the like, shims'have been commonly used. When matrices are molded from the original type forms for the casting of printing plates, the resulting plates usually have to be trimmed, trued up or shimmed. One of the most troublesome as well as the most common of the rou tine steps in printing has been the leveling up of the faces of the type forms and plates by means of shims skillfully applied to the back side'of the printing elements, substantially by a cut and try system, which, how ever, is ineilicient in that it is too laborious and consumes too much time, and the results are not always satisfactory. Although V numerous attempts have been made to overcome this difiiculty and many useful advances have been made, still I see great need for further simplifying and perfecting the methods and means involved.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved and simplified method of preparing type forms; to provide a method and means to this end adapted for use by unskilled hands; to provide for readily alining the type faces, half tones, cuts and the like so as to insure proper printing, or the molding of matrices from which printing plates may be cast having true printing faces; to provide a malleably yielding, ductile or substantially plastic de vice or backing material for the type or other printing elements adapted to set with sufficient rigidity to hold the position of the type either for printing or for the making of a matrix; to provide a metallic backing sheet adapted for this purpose; and to provide such a method and means adapted largely for automatic type alining operation, using mainly the apparatus and equipment found in printing shops and matrix making establishments.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown by the accompanying drawing, in which- 28, 1924. Serial No. 752,815.

Fig. l is. a plan, on an enlarged scale, of a backing sheet for use in the type holder or chase. r

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged section showing the type held in duly alined relation by a rigidly set roughened backing sheet.

Fig. 4 is a reduced scale view, partly in section, showing a type form in a press adapted to line up the type faces and set the type bases in the-malleable backing support member.

Fig. 5 shows a matrix applied to the face of a type form.

Referring to said drawings, the method of practicing the invention herein described consists in placing a backing member 1 in the bottom of a type holder or chase '2, setting up the type 3 therein to produce a type form, then placing the type form as a whole in a press 4, next applying a smooth faced rigid plate 5 to the typeface, and then applying pressure thereto by means of t e screw Gsuiiicient to force the type all down snugly against and more or less into the backing 1, whereby all of the type faces 7 are brought into alinement against the face of plate 5 in a common plane, represented by the line 8.

In order that the backing member 1 may accommodate depression of the back ends of the type therein, sufficient to permit the leveling of the type faces, it is formed of a yielding material, preferably of somewhat plastic and ductile character, capable of taking and holding a definite set, and adapted to resist deformation under ordinarypressures, but adapted to respond to the pres sure applied by the press 4:. Furthermore, to facilitate this yielding for adjustment of the type, it is formed by a suitable molding or rolling process, as from sheet metal of ductile character, so as to provide a main planar part 9 having upstanding parts 10, molded therein, preferably in the form of small domes which are adapted to yield more or less as required to accommodate the variable lengths of the type units, some of which are relatively short, as indicated at 11, and others are longer, as indicated at 12 on Fig. 3. In said figure, the numeral 10' indicates certain domes which have been partially depressed and crumpled down by the ends of the type bearing thereon, numeral 1 indicating the normal initial position shown by a dotted'line.

By this method the type faces are all brought into perfect printing alinement, and are so retained by the backing member 1. The type form as thus prepared may be used directly in a printing press, or in accordance with the more common practice, may be used for'making matrices, from which printing plates may be cast, as well understood in the art.

Fig. 5 showsone form of matrix which may well be made from type forms prepared as above described. Here the matrix 13 comprises a flong member 14 and a backing. member 15, substantially as shown and described in my copending application, Serial No. 686,616, which was allowed on October 27, 1924.

The backingmember 1 used in the chase 2 is preferably rolledfrom suitable sheet metal, which maybe an alloy of lead with one or more metals adapted to impart the degree of hardness and. rigidity 1nost;desirable. Although but a single layer. of.

metal. backing. is herein shown, it is tov be understood: that two or more layers may be used together, whereby the equivalent of athicker layer may be had.

The backing sheets 1 maybe of the nature:

of heavy foil. lVhen laminated backings are used, their stifiness and rigidity maybe determined by the number of standard thincomponent sheets used. The size andspaclug-0f th domes 10 or other roughenmg features may be varied according to the size of type or character of the. matter to be set up. l/v'ith'coarse or large sized type the domes may be larger and farther apart than with small type or other finely divided matter.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details of the constri'icti'on' shown may be alteredor omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Atype alining member adapted for use in the bottom ofa chase to force the type into alinementon their face side, said ember consisting of a sheet of malleable metal formed with a roughened face adapted to permit sufficient yielding to accommodate the irregularities in theback face of the type form when pressure is applied thereto.

2. Atypealining make-ready device comprising a thin sheet of malleablemetal'resembling lead or a suitable alloy thereof, formed with closely set evenly distributed hollow dome-like protuberances, adapted to be formed-readily by molding.- from a plain sheet of? metal, which protuberances, when presented to type ends and subjected to substantial pressure, readily yield and take a modified set sufficient to support the type in amatrix-mold or in a printing press.

Signed at Chicago, this 24th day of November, 1924.

CHARLES WV. EBERHARD. 

